It’s an Apple product launch day, so fanboys and haters are all excited to see what’s come out of the pome factory (an apple is a type of pome, thanks wikipedia).
The iPad 2 by all accounts, is a whole 1 better than the iPad 1, even though the iPad 1 wasn’t actually called an iPad 1. What does this extra 1 mean?
It’s thinner, 33% smaller. Smaller is better!
It’s faster, 100% faster CPU. What that really means is it’s a dual core. It’s also 900% faster in the graphics department, which to me indicates the iPad 1 didn’t have very good graphics. I think part of this is that some high graphics quality games have started to come out in the App Store, and really a lot of people want an iPad as a casual gaming device.
It’s got cameras. Two! Just like your iPhone 4! The front is VGA, so facetime chats are the only thing it’s good for. The back camera will take 5 megapixel stills, and record video at 720p. At least that’s what I can make out, there’s so much misinformation on the web about the iPad 2. One site claimed it was only a 1 megapixel camera, but magical devices have higher resolution cameras than that.
It’s got a battery! You can’t swap over or get to it, and it’s got the same battery life as the iPad 1 – about 10 hours of use.
It’s got a screen! The exact same one as the iPad 1. A bit surprising there, so those of you spoilt with RETINA DISPLAY on your iPhone 4’s may complain about being able to see the pixels. Then again, you’re probably taking your iPad to bed with you and cuddling it as you fall asleep, with your fancy sleep rythm apps and sex positions to study… sorry I’m getting sidetracked here.
It has HDMI out*! *If you buy a US$40 adapter. At first this sounds amazing, but then why would you want to game with an iPad plugged into a TV? isn’t that what consoles are for? In a business environment, I could see someone plugging it in to a projector and displaying fancy pie charts showing how your company could improve profits by 2% if they changed over to single ply toilet paper.
And the big one…
You can get it in black OR white! No longer will whitey be opressed with vague promises of existance to the masses (because you know, Stephen Fry has a white iPhone 4), to be crushed time after time again. Of course you’re probably putting a case over it anyway, but it doesn’t matter what’s on the outside, it’s the inside that counts.
Summary:
It’s a bit better, but even moreso if you have an iPad one, no reason to upgrade unless you can poop money somehow. If so, feel free to use my toilet but don’t flush. Once some more powerful apps and games come out to use the extra power, then maybe you’ve got a good reason. I’m not sure why the normal person would take a picutre of anything using a giant pad, rather than say their mobile phone – but there’s always someone with a specific need.
Sources:
http://www.padgadget.com/2011/03/02/ipad-2-specs-out-dual-core-a5-baby/
http://www.tomsguide.com/us/ipad-ipad2-ipad-2,news-10329.html
http://www.joystiq.com/2011/03/02/ipad-2-to-feature-hdmi-output/